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Ralgha nar Hhallas
(Mentioned Only), |last= }} Ralgha "Hobbes" nar Hhallas was a Kilrathi, greatly loyal to the Terran Confederation, his sense of duty and justice not clicking well with the brutality and savagery of the Kilrathi Empire. Ralgha nar Hhallas was the commander of the cruiser , whose doubts about the Kilrathi Empire's righteousness led to his defection''Freedom Flight. He acted in a series of campaigns against the Kilrathi, opposed to their concept of total war and the brutal destruction of humanity at its roots. He has been stationed in the Empire both in Tartarus and Ghora Kar. Personal biography He was born a Thrak'hra native on the planet Hhallas. During his childhood he was a friend with his beloved Hassa. In his service he had Kirha, a loyal cub from a family that served his ''hrai for generations. He left his home planet when he chose the path of politics and military and spent the following years in officer's training on Kilrah. At a troop review, lowborn Jahkai had pretended to noble airs by imitating the highborn bringing shame on them. Ralgha in turn shamed Jahkai mocking him and laughing in his face, without knowing that he was the Kalrahr of Imperial Security for the Ghorah Khar System. The two hated each other ever since. As the commanding officer of the , a cruiser that had fought in many battles, he fought in the Terran-Kilrathi War. His joy was taunting and killing humans for the glory of the Empire and winning honor for his hrai. As a Kilrathi, he hated all humans, until on the war-torn Kilrathi colony of Ghorah Khar he saw a Kilra'hra attempting to kill a human child. Not wanting to have a stain on his honor, he decided to rescue that child. Witnessing the honorless cruelty of his people, he abandoned everything he had believed in. Ralgha also believed that human slaves are a shame in the Empire. One day, the humans made a retaliatory attack on Hhallas. While Ralgha was fighting, the local kalrahr mistakenly fired on the ship where his hrai, and their retainer were aboard. Kirha asked to serve with him on Ras Nik'hra to fight humans in vengeance. Because of this tragic event, Ralgha realized that the Terran-Kilrathi War was a meaningless stalemate, and the only purpose of the tremendous losses was the honor of the Kilrathi Emperor. Rebellion His beloved Hassa had become a priestess of Sivar and had formed the rebellion against the Kilrathi Emperor. In 2653 she brought him in the organization and he swore an oath to the Council that he would aid them and started working with the rebels, although he never took part in their councils or decisions. He fought against the Terran Confederation in the Vega Sector. In one of his most glorious moments, he participated in a hours-long battle maneuvering against the Terran , until the ship was destroyed killing 500 humans on board. Once while stationed in the Tartarus System near the Kilrathi lines, Rhalga made initial contact with the Confederation offering his wishes to defect. Halcyon believing that mission was vitally important to the Confed's cause and agreed to pick him up. He ordered Jason Armstrong to meet Ralgha and help escort the Kilrathi Colonel back to the ship. Halcyon wanted the Dralthi that the Kilrathi was flying. The priority of the mission was to keep the Dralthi safe. Armstrong defended Rhalga from Kilrathi forces, and stopped an attack on a convoy on the way back. The last of the flight was uneventful.HALCYON HAS CALLED YOU TO HIS OFFICE FOR A SPECIAL BREIFING SYSTEM, NEAR KILRATHI LINES Halcyon: Come in Maverick, I need to speak to you. Maverick: Yes sir? Halcyon: I have a mission for you. One that's vitally important to our cause. We have been contacted by a Kilrathi Colonel who wishes to defect. I need you to fly out to meet him and guide him back to the Tiger's Claw . He will be in a Dralthi, and we want that ship intact. Do whatever is necessary to keep it that way, understood? Maverick: Yes sir! Halcyon: Good, the details of the mission are already entered into your flight recorder. If you encounter the enemy, remember. Your first priority is the safety of that Dralthi. If you can get a clear shot oh 'em go ahead, but don't risk the mission. You'll be in a Rapier. That's all, dismissed. SIGMA DEFEND DEBRIEFING, TARTARUS SYSTEM NEAR KILRATHI LINES Halcyon: Well Maverick, I understood you made it back safely with the Dralthi and Colonel Ralgha. Maverick: Yes sir. Halcyon: Lets hear your report. Maverick: Yes sir. I ran into a few wings of Kilrathi on the way, but took care of 'em. When I arrived at Nav 1, the convoy was under attack, but we got rid of them. The trip back was uneventful. Halcyon: Good, I couldn't have hoped for better results. I can't give you a medal for this mission, Lt., due to its sensitive nature, but I believe you deserve one. You have my thanks, Maverick Maverick: Thank you, sir. Halcyon: Yes, very well, then. Dismissed. Presumably Rhalga returned later to the Empire to help spy for the Confederation, but was arrested. His old enemy Jahkai relayed his suspicions to Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka. Ralgha was arrested for treason and taken to the Imperial Intelligence Headquarters on Ghorah Khar. He had been locked in a dark, damp cell for 10 days, often without sleep, and questioned day and night. As he was a lord, the interrogators didn't dare to touch him (at least without the decree of the Emperor) so they resolved in taunting him to provoke his killing-rage, something that would "prove" his guilt. During interrogations he answered questions and suffered taunts, fighting his rage. The last interrogation lasted over 5 hours by Jahkai and his life depended on his word. Prince Thrakhath, was present that time, and was tired of this scene. He declared Ralgha innocent, shaming Jahkai. As Ralgha was leaving victorious, Jahkai provoked him, but Ralgha reminded him of his rank. Ralgha was ready to return to his ship and leave for the N'Tanya System to join the strike force departing for the Terran frontier, however Esther, a female human slave of Hassa, asked him to meet with her in the local Temple of Sivar. There, Hassa told him about the Council's decision while he was in prison; they will need the help of the Terrans for their cause, and Ralgha was to act as their ambassador; as a move of good faith he would meet with the in the Firekka system and surrender his ship to them, expecting for their forces to overthrow the Emperor. Ralgha was reluctant to agree, but he submitted to his oath. Before leaving, they realized that troops of the Intelligence were looking for Hassa, so Ralgha sneaked through the back door of the temple. As they approached the Firekka system, Ralgha ordered a full sensory scan of the immediate area instead of launching fighters for reconnaissance; he wanted to avoid anyone firing at the Terrans at all costs, as a hostile action would make them to destroy his ship. He ordered the Communications Officer to transfer all control of external communications to his cabin for a closed-channel discussion. He went to his cabin with Kirha, and chewed some arakh leaves to calm down before his crtical decision. As soon as they arrived to Firekka, Ralgha ran a scan of the outside comm channel and dictated to Kirha a message of surrender to translate into Terran and transmit to the Claw. Then Ralgha changed the keycodes to the weapons armory so as to prevent access to the other crewmembers during the ensuing mutiny. and 20 Dralthis that were with them. }} En route to the planet, Kirha detected the jump-system emissions of a and another ship; running an analysis, Ralgha pointed out that the traces are created by the multiple jump engines of a carrier, the Tiger's Claw. He insisted that no forward patrol was needed as the traces were weeks old, and threatened Drakj'khai, who questioned his orders, causing him to fall on the floor in submission. Defection As the crew were busy with their duties, he took Kirha into his cabin and explained that in order to reassure that nobody fires at the Terrans, they must take control of their ship. He gave Kirha a small laserpistol and a comm unit and the order to secure the Bridge. Then he announced an order, calling everyone else to report to the primary Launch Bay. He wore a spacewalking suit and equipped himself with an airlock venting device intended for eliminating fires in the Launch Bays. He went there and gave a speech to the gathered ranks of warriors and engineers reminding them their oaths to him, then pointed out the corruption and useless warmongering of the Empire that caused deaths in everyone's hrai; he revealed that he rebelled against the Emperor, intending to surrender the ship to the Terrans. Seeing the shock and disbelief among them, he gave them the choice either to surrender, or he'd trigger the device and vent them into open space. In the meantime Kirha secured the Bridge and reported that , a Terran troopship, was approaching and Ralgha relayed his permission to dock at the aft airlock. A low murmuring began, until one Engineering Officer shouted treason. With a roar, the crowd surged forward and Ralgha punched the button of the device; however the Bay door was jammed and opened just a little. His surprise was followed by a mass assault; he fought his way to the exit hatchway, as they were grabbing him or bringing him down to his knees. With his helmet and suit being torn away, he shoved the crewmen away from him, clawing for the hatchway control mechanism; it opened suddenly, spilling everyone out into the corridor, but he stood up and began to run toward the aft airlock where the Holmen was about to dock. Kirha would not respond through his comm unit while crewmen kept coming after him, throwing him down, and he blindly kicked out and clawed his opponents. The ship echoed with the docking of the troopship and Ralgha managed to slid to a stop inside the airlock, struggling to punch the entry sequence for opening the outside door, while the Terrans pounded on the hull and his crewmen attacked him. As the pain and loss of blood slowed him down, he called to Kirha to open the airlock from the bridge. Soon, the airlock door half-opened and he managed to fall into the Holmen's airlock, filled with humans. One of the Marines put his gun against his face and stated his name, as his own troops were motionless before the human squadron aiming at them. Major Kristi Marks, the Marine leader ordered them to stand and shot down one Kilra'hra who disobeyed. In order to protect his crewmen's lives, Ralgha told them that they can't win and instructed them to surrender, promising that they will be treated honorably; the first to respond was the Gunnery Officer who fought him earlier. Major Marks greeted Ralgha and offered him treatment in their Sickbay. Just then Kirha reported that an Imperial Fralthi was coming against them. that boarded and captured the ship.}} The ship was escorted to the and on its way it was attacked by the . Hunter destroyed the Kraj'nishk and landed on the ship, where Ralgha waited for him with Major Marks and Spirit; he welcomed and thanked him for destroying their attacker and expressed his debt of honor. He surrendered the ship personally to him, as well as Kirha as his retainer; he did this mostly to protect Kirha. On the Bridge, Ralgha directed the humans in the navigation and control of the ship. In the Confederation When the Ras Nik'hra formed up with the Claw, Ralgha was tended to, although his injuries still pained him, and taken to a comfortable room, with chairs adapted for tailed species. Captain Thorn and Colonel Peter Halcyon came into his room with guards beside the entrance. They were equipped with sophisticated tiny translator-units attached to their belts, denoting the importance of the meeting; although he outranked both. Halcyon reassured him that Kirha was not harmed, something Ralgha was always worrying about. He was asked about his aegenda and what he did want from the Confederation in exchange. Ralgha explained the situation on Ghorah Khar against the powermongering Emperor and his advisors. When the humans understood, he revealed about the rebellion and the important position of Kilrathi women in it. Thorn promised to support him and give recommendations to the Confederation High Command, and Ralgha asked them to speed or force the issue. Halcyon announced that they'll send him to High Command on the next available ship so that he can plead his case in person, but before that, to accept a chemical interrogation. Ralgha responded that he wished to leave the system the soonest possible because of the upcoming Sivar-Eshrad ceremony and explained the purpose of Kilrathi activity in the system; as for himself, he doesn't care about the gods since the death of his hrai. Halcyon guided him to the doctors, when a crewman, whose family was killed on the Goddard Colony, attacked Ralgha with an energy gun; Halcyon knocked Ralgha down and guards leapt upon the attacker, putting him in restraints. Halcyon apologized and Ralgha responded that he is in a similar situation; he continued, looking forward to the euphorics and painkillers. As a defector he supplied the with a Dralthi Mk. II. Many humans initially distrusted him, such as Shotglass. He was transferred to Confed HQ for debriefing. He volunteered for a trank-chem interrogation with neo-scopalamine by Dr. Khalsa and revealed that the purpose of the Kilrathi in Firekka was the Way of Sivar ceremony. Kirha joined him, and they were supposed to be transferred to High Command, but right then a messenger told them that urgent matters prevented the Captain from sending them out of the system. The Kilrathi arrived in force and sooner than expected; the Prince obviously hastened his plans after Ralgha's defection. The two Kilrathi tried to pass their time the following days like prisoners in boredom and nervousness. Ralgha varied the time of lunch so that they wouldn't become mad with boredom. When not meditating or doing exercises together with Kirha, Ralgha spent his time on the computer terminal, studying the Terran literature, culture and language, and playing Terran games like Go. Apparently his actions were monitored by computer technicians who also realised his growing knowledge of their language; during one of those sessions, a message in Terran language came to his terminal that Thorn wished to speak with him. Ralgha typed "/send " and his reply. In his seat, Ralgha listened to Thorn and his guards, who spoke to him in Terran, telling him that the Marines disrupted the ceremony on Firekka. Ralgha interrupted him, saying that he already knows that the Prince withdraws his troops; believing that Sivar forsook them, they'd be reluctant to fight, fearing the Great Dark, and would retreat to Kilrathi space in all speed, in order to be purified in their temples to escape that fate. He advised Thorn to do the same-should the Claw press on the desperate Kilrathi, they would pay any price to escape and gather reinforcements before returning. A part of him was angry about these events and the warriors who perished, but on the other hand he believed that the humans were only the means for Sivar's will, as the Emperor and the Prince were already corrupt. He was satisfied however that his advise would preserve lives of warriors from both sides. But most of all, he was happy knowing that the Emperor's displeasure, and opposition from the priestesses, would fall heavily on the Prince. He and Kirha were taken to Sol Station where they were separated. Kirha was held but Ralgha was taken to Earth soon after. Ralgha worked with James Taggart allowing the Confed to capture Ghorah Khar. While there, he also saved Paladin's life and the two started a long friendship. He eventually proved himself to his humans counterparts and became one of the Confederation's top pilots. There are a number of accounts how he got his nickname, Tristam Roberts holovids claim Downtown gave him his callsign as a homage to an ancient Terran philosopher because of his wisdom. Whereas others claim it was Christopher Blair who gave Hobbes his nickname from Calvin and Hobbes, who is in turn named after Thomas Hobbes. Other accounts say it was actually Blair who gave the nickname after his Grandmother's butler named Hobbes. Vengeance of the Kilrathi He served as a pilot on the . He would complain for being assigned only "busy work" missions instead fighting in the front lines. The reason was that his presence among the Confed was considered too imporant for Geoffrey Tolwyn to afford losing him in more risky missions. He was introduced to Maverick while playing a hand of Five-card draw with Spirit, Stingray and Jazz. }} He was assigned by Jeannette Devereaux to fly patrol with Maverick in F-44G Rapiers. Hobbes was not happy to fly "busy-work" instead of a "real mission" and Maverick was not happy to fly with a Kilrathi traitor as his wingleader, but Angel insisted. Hobbes already knew Maverick's reputation and did not share Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn's opinion on him and ordered Maverick to act as the wing's wingleader in order to witness his abilities. During the patrol they encountered Kur Human-Killer in a Grikath. Later Maverick and Ralgha were sent to escort Bonnie Heather to the Concordia; they found it under attack by a wing of Jalkehis and fought them off before leading the ship and its captain, James Taggart, to the Concordia. The two were ordered by Geoffrey Tolwyn to save Olympus Station from a Kilrathi strike force led by a , and in the meantime to defend the Concordia; on their way back, they defended the Station once more before returning to the Concordia. Because of Maverick's negative reputation, Hobbes took the credit alone as the savior of the Olympus Station. Ralgha was in the Observation Deck while Stingray was lamenting the death of his wingman, Dallas, because of malfunctions. Ralgha noted the unlikely series of malfunctions, which Stingray believed to be a result of sabotage. Ralgha on the other hand did not share this view as a saboteur would gain nothing from the death of a young pilot. This remark enraged Stingray, who accused Ralgha for being the spy on the ship. Ralgha earned Stingray's hatred. While Spirit was coping with rumors that she was a member of the Society of the Mandarins, she was assigned to fly with Maverick. This caused some bitter comments by Stingray, who publicly said that Spirit and the "Coward of K'Tithrak Mang" deserve each other. Hobbes stood forth to defend Maverick's honor and provoked Stingray to be treated as false accusers are treated on Hhallas. Devereaux ordered both of them in her office. A later incident found them fighting in hand-to-hand combat until they were sent to Sickbay with cuts and bruises. When Paladin returned to the Concordia Hobbes played another game of poker with his friends Paladin, Maverick and Downtown, while hearing one of Paladin's stories (which Ralgha already heard countless times) teasing each other. Hobbes was struck by Downtown's death while retreating from Tesla and he lamented his loss at the flight deck. He realized that he saw him like a son. Maverick offered him Paladin's Sukhar May'ya and left him alone. In the Enigma system he shared a drink with Maverick, Jazz and Stingray, who was puzzled about the secrecy going on in the ship. Hobbes explained that they are in a vulnerable position, and shared Maverick's wish for Confed's success. Later, while playing cards with the other officers and discussing about their lives after the War, he expressed his worries that he won't have a home to go to after it is over. He dispelled Doomsday's pessimism that the Kilrathi Empire is corrupt, evil and decadent, and can't possibly win the War. He later was present at the victory celebration onboard the Concordia. Epilogue Heart of the Tiger ]] Years later the Terran Confederation, panicked by recent incursions near Earth, attempt to up the stakes of the war by building weapons of mass destruction capable of destroying Kilrah. This acts as an echo to the A-Bomb strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II in 1945. The hope is that by destroying Kilrah, and thus killing the Emperor, the Kilrathi would lose any centralization and will to fight, and sign a peace accord with the Terran Confederation. Despite his personal feelings about such a plot, Hobbes continues to serve loyally alongside his longtime friend Christopher Blair. During their time on the ''TCS Victory, Blair is one of the only people who fully trusts Hobbes. Midway through the course of the game, it is revealed that Hobbes has transmitted confidential information to the Kilrathi, including schematics of the TCS Behemoth and the T-Bomb. The pilot Cobra attempts to stop him, but he quickly kills her and makes off with a Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter. Hobbes is killed on 2669.267 attempting to defend the Kilrathi homeworld, Kilrah, against Colonel Christopher Blair. Even though Cobra's murder had turned Blair and Hobbes into enemies, Hobbes still retained his admiration and respect for the Colonel. Despite the fact that he would have no choice but to kill him in combat the next time that they met, Hobbes still considered Blair a friend. Character As a highborn, Ralgha sported a bright sleek pelt, with the colors and patterns of his noble family. He was tall, even for a Kilrathi, and in his later years he was grizzled with mane of white fur. He wore heavy leather hauberks, and his ears were pierced with multiple gold rings. As many Kilrathi officers, Ralgha was trained in exercises for limited space (as in a ship's quarters) to keep himself in shape. He was also trained by priestesses in meditation techniques meant not only for relaxing, but also to focus thought and self-discipline. Hobbes did not think high of Jazz, and for some time, Stingray. When Jazz said something offensive, Hobbes replied that he rarely listens to what he says. There is some debate over the source of Hobbes' betrayal. One theory holds that this was a voluntary, moral act, as a response to the potential actions of the Confed military. It appears that Hobbes was earlier a personality construct on the orders of Prince Thrakhath. Hobbes was a sleeper agent, infiltrated into the Confederation. A key phrase ("The Heart of the Tiger") spoken by Thrakath during a transmission to Colonel Blair had awakened Hobbes' true personality. The newly awakened Hobbes still retained considerable respect and admiration for Col. Blair. Other media *Ralgha also appeared in the Freedom Flight and Heart of the Tiger novelizations. *He also appears in Super Wing Commander. category:Concordia (CVS-65) personnel category:Terran Confederation pilots Category:Kilrathi Category:Ras Nik'hra personnel Category:Characters (SWC) Category:Characters (SM2) Category:Characters (Freedom Flight) Category:Characters (SM1.5) Category:Characters (WC2) Category:Characters (WC3) Category:Characters (Heart of the Tiger) Category:Characters (WC1&2G) Category:Characters (WCA)